Low/Zero Carbon Fuels Production, Transportation, Storage and Utilization

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 June 2025 | Viewed by 565

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Interests: visualization and simulation of internal flows; fuel atomization; mixture formation and combustion

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
Interests: atomization mechanism and efficient combustion technology; spray-wall interactions; microscopic characteristics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Low/zero-carbon fuels have been a hot topic among researchers and manufacturers owing to the opportunities and challenges of carbon neutrality. Recently, many advanced developments have been reported related to the production, transportation, storage, and utilization of low/zero-carbon fuel technologies. These fuels include zero-carbon fuel (ammonia and hydrogen), carbon-neutral fuel (biodiesel and methanol), and low-carbon fuel (methane and natural gas). However, the production and transportation of these fuels still present a great technical challenge. Furthermore, all of these fuels need to be stored safely and be able to be used for combustion. Therefore, developing high-efficiency storage and utilization methods for these fuels is another significant challenge. Moreover, considering the strict rules regarding emissions from gas turbine, marine, and automobile engines, the application of these advanced atomization and combustion strategies under specific working conditions in different powertrains should also be deeply investigated.

This Special Issue on “Low/Zero Carbon Fuels Production, Transportation, Storage and Utilization” welcomes the submission of high-quality articles focusing on the latest novel advances in technology for low/zero-carbon fuels. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Low/zero-carbon fuel production technology;
  • Low/zero-carbon fuel transportation technology;
  • Low/zero-carbon fuel storage technology;
  • Fundamental research on fuel spray and combustion;
  • Spray and clean combustion in automobile, marine, and gas turbine engines.

Prof. Dr. Hongliang Luo
Guest Editor

Dr. Yu Jin
Dr. Feixiang Chang
Guest Editor Assistants

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Keywords

  • low/zero-carbon fuel production
  • low/zero-carbon fuel transportation
  • low/zero-carbon fuel storage
  • low/zero-carbon fuel utilization
  • clean combustion
  • advanced spray and combustion strategy
  • internal combustion engine

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 9055 KiB  
Article
Combustion and Emissions Optimization of Diesel–Methanol Dual-Fuel Engine: Emphasis on Valve Phasing and Injection Parameters
by Zhenyu Sun, Zifan Lian, Jinchun Ma, Chunying Wang, Wei Li and Jiaying Pan
Processes 2025, 13(4), 1183; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13041183 - 14 Apr 2025
Viewed by 258
Abstract
Diesel–methanol dual-fuel (DMDF) mode holds significant potential for achieving highly efficient and clean combustion in modern marine engines. However, issues such as low methanol substitution rate and high pollutant emissions persist, and the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This study numerically investigated [...] Read more.
Diesel–methanol dual-fuel (DMDF) mode holds significant potential for achieving highly efficient and clean combustion in modern marine engines. However, issues such as low methanol substitution rate and high pollutant emissions persist, and the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This study numerically investigated the combustion and emissions of a heavy-duty marine engine operating in DMDF mode. Multi-cycle simulations, incorporating diesel and methanol dual-fuel chemical mechanisms, were carried out to explore engine performance across various key parameters, including valve phasing, injection pressure, injection phasing, and nozzle diameter. The results indicate that valve phasing can greatly affect the indicated thermal efficiency, particularly at large valve overlap angles. This is primarily attributed to the variations of methanol film mass and thereby overall combustion efficiency. The optimized valve phasing increases the indicated thermal efficiency by 2.4%. By optimizing injection parameters, the formation of methanol film is effectively reduced, facilitating the improvement in the indicated thermal efficiency. The optimal injection pressure and nozzle diameter are 20 bar and 0.3 mm, respectively, resulting in increases in indicated thermal efficiency of 1.28% and 1.07%, compared to the values before optimization. Advancing injection timing and increasing nozzle diameter markedly decrease methanol film mass because some methanol remains undisturbed by the intake flow, while large droplet sizes tend to enhance the resistance to airflow. As injection pressure rises from 20 bar to 50 bar, the spray–wall interaction region expands, droplet size diminishes, and methanol film formation increases. Consequently, the combustible methanol in the cylinder is reduced, undermining the indicated thermal efficiency. Additionally, there exists a trade-off relationship between NOx and soot emissions, and the high heat release rate results in increased NOx but decreased soot emissions for diesel–methanol dual-fuel engines. Full article
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